Henderson Recognizes Southern Cherokee Nation

Published: February 25, 2009 10:46PM

The city of Henderson, Kentucky has issued a proclamation recognizing the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky. In Tuesday evening's meeting, the Mayor of Henderson,Thomas E. Davis, read aloud the proclamation which read (in part) "...The Southern Cherokee have existed as a separate tribe since 1835" and "....The Band has contributed to the community....". Further, documentation was shown that "....On December 26th, 1893, the Southern Cherokee were welcomed to Kentucky and recognized as an Indian Tribe by Governor John Y. Brown....". After the reading of the proclamation, the certificate was presented to Michael "Manfox" Buley, the Principal Chief of the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky. Frankfort's own David L. Fallis, who lives in Springhill Estates, is the Senator and Vice-Chief of the Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky. It is interesting that Kentucky is one of only eight states that does not have a state recognized Indian Tribe. During this Legislative session, their are currently two bills dealing with Native American definition and tribal recognition. Both bills were introduced in the House of Representatives and both were passed overwhelmingly. The bills now rest in the State and Local Government Committee of the Senate. The Southern Cherokee Nation of Kentucky continues to live according to tribal culture and currently has over 1,000 members living in several states of the US.